Wednesday, May 8, 2013

I had this crazy idea today for a new blog that I hope to grow into a website! Wouldn't it be cool to share your children's artwork with people all over the world just so that they can enjoy it? No competition with other children just pure appreciation of what children can do when their minds are set loose and they are armed with crayons, glue, mud, paper, paperclips, or anything else they can get their hands on? I think so, so I created Mommy's Refrigerator. For now it's going to be a blog to showcase artwork submissions but I hope that someday it will be something MUCH bigger! Please head over and check it out and tell me what you all think! Annabelle even cooperated long enough to created the site's very first submission!

Monday, April 1, 2013

So yesterday we finally took Annabelle to see the neurologist. We'd had this appointment planned for most of her life but there never was an open slot with the neurologist that was soon enough that an appointment could be set. This one was officially set back in November to give you an idea of how busy this department gets I guess. The reason Annabelle needed to see a neurologist, is that every now and again she has these weird "twitches". Her face will tense up and sometimes rock back and forth, and the way she reacts afterwards is like it never happened. It's almost like someone hits her "pause" button. Originally the her primary doctor and her cardiologist thought it was typical infantile spasms, but as she got closer to being a year old and she kept doing it, and along with her heart defect, they decided that it needed to be checked out just in case. To prepare for this appointment I was told that making a list of all of the times that I saw her "twitch", dates, times, details about what she was doing around the time that they happened. Since November, she's had around 15 of them and they are never reserved to a specific activity, she could be eating, sleeping, playing, etc. Up until about two weeks ago, after over a month of not "twitching" at all, we thought she was finally over it, but they came back and now they have gotten longer. Where in the beginning they lasted a few seconds, the past few have been between 30 seconds and a minute. It's safe to say I was more than anxious to see what the neurologist would say.

Only to find out that he literally had nothing to say. He asked me to act out one of her "twitches", looked over the list I had brought of all the times that I had seen her do it, and in the end told me that without a video there was really nothing he was going to do about it. After all this time waiting to take Annabelle to see this guy to figure out what's wrong with her (if anything), and leave with no new information at all other than it could be a release of pent up energy but without a video he couldn't say for sure. There was literally no point in going in the end. I mean it's like he thought I was lying. I can't predict when these things are going to happen, otherwise wouldn't I have recorded it by now? He seemed to think so....So short of filming her constantly there is really now way to do this. So I just have to hope they stop on their own, or that I get lucky and she just happens to do it sometime when I'm already filming her.

The most irritating thing of all, was after we left and we out to eat she "twitched" within 10 minutes of sitting down, and we all saw her do it, but at her appointment the doctor couldn't be bother to check her at all.

Friday, March 22, 2013

It’s time to celebrate Nutrition Month, win some Visa Gift Cards, more prizes, pick up some nutrition tips and more!

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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

For as far back as I can remember, I always knew that whether someday I had a boy or a girl I would buy them a sailor suit. Not some off the rack knock-off but the real deal, family heirloom quality sailor suit. Two and a half weeks ago I received a $20 Amazon Gift Card in the mail that I had won from an online Arby's (restaurant) Instant Win Game. After scouring the better part of the women's clothing on Amazon, and finding nothing that really stuck out as something that I would wear (not to mention something that wouldn't require more money out of my own pocket), I decided to check out the children's clothes. I sudden't remembered how much I wanted a sailor suit and set to work searching for the perfect one. I found it! The Rare Editions Baby-Girls Infant Nautical Capri Set was perfect! It had the classic Navy and White colors and the classic sailor style. I read the reviews before I decided to purchase it. The only negative review was towards the material. It was described as kinda stiff and more like a uniform than a child's outfit. However, this was the review that convinced me the most that this was what I was looking for! About a week later (was sorta bummed that my Amazon Prime membership didn't apply to this order to shorten the shipping), it finally arrived and I was ecstatic! I had checked my mailbox on the way out of our complex headed to my grandma's house (my mother's mother), so I had to wait a whole 45 minutes to try it on Annabelle. It was AMAZING! Here are some photos of the first time she wore the outfit, the photos don't do it any justice at all but it was the best I could do at the time of day with a cellphone camera.

As you can see, it comes with classic sailor style top (though I was a little upset that it turned out to be sleeveless, but later realized that it's almost more adorable that way, and so much better for the summer), that is long enough to be worn on it's own. A pair of matching capris, though they are long enough on Annabelle to be pants, however this just means that it will fit her for even longer! Last but certainly not least, the most adorable little hat to top it all off with the matching color scheme and a big white bow. The hat is stretchy, and I love that the elastic is all bunched up in the back so that you can't see it from the front. The material really isn't too stiff, it's stiff enough to match the style but not so much that Annabelle seems uncomfortable. It's definitely an outfit more suited to formal occasions, but family gatherings would be perfect for it as well. Annabelle currently wears 18 month sized clothes, but this outfit fits her pretty loosely so it should last her well into the rest of the year. This is definitely a brand I recommend, and I will look to them in the future for other formal outfits.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Last week it was finally warm enough to walk Annabelle to the park and let her play! We actually got to go out two days in a row, and the second day she got to play with her little friend Harrison from downstairs! We also got to try out her new clothes from her grandma Kristi, that she bought at Crazy 8. Now I had never heard of Crazy 8 before,but from what Kristi told me it's a pretty awesome store. They have all these different themes and different clothing pieces that can be mix matched to make even more outfits! Annabelle wore a Strawberry themed outfit with a long sleeve shirt that says "so berry cute" with strawberry appliques,a matching strawberry headband, and a jean skirt with strawberry detail. Matched with white socks and her grey boots and her new sunglasses, (we left one of her tennis shoes at her grandma's house so she was stuck wearing these boots all week) this turned out to be the cutest little outfit! The skirt is a little shorter than others which made playtime a little easier which was great. The material isn't very thick so she can wear it in warm weather to protect her skin without the worry of overheating. Overall, these clothes were very impressive and I can't wait to take a trip to the store myself to see what other themes they have. She also got a set of pink polka-dotted wiener dog clothes that she wore the next day, however they were a little thicker and she ended up running around without a shirt because of the heat. Kristi said that Crazy 8 has tons of different themes like penguins, flowers, and too many other to name. Here are some photos of our trip to the park on Thursday and the outfits from Crazy 8.

And here is her on Friday after we had to take her shirt off.

This was Thursday and Friday of last week...4 days ago and today it's snowing again....will spring ever get here and stay???

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

We haven't posted in a little while, because really there was nothing to post about! Things have been pretty boring and it's obviously effecting Annabelle. We've had blue sky and sunshine all day long, and a few days last week, but it's never hit 30 degrees let alone been warm enough to let her outside to play. The last time she was able to go out and play was about 3 days before her birthday...so yea it's been a while. I don't know how much more of this being cooped up she can take, but I hope it isn't for much longer. She's been staring out the sliding door on our balcony for days.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

If you've read 12 Month Checkup then you know that Annabelle has a congenital heart defect known as a Pulmonary Valve Stenosis. In short it's a narrowing of the pulmonary valve that cause less than ideal blood flow to the lungs. Unlike in one of our earliest posts, Annabelle's Ornery Assault on the Heart Doctor , today's appointment for the most part went on without a hitch. She had missed her nap so she wasn't the most cooperative for the echo (like a sonogram) of her heart, needless to say the doctor had to be notified that the readings were not of a resting heart rate! However, just like the last appointment she passed out before the doctor ever saw her, so she had no idea that the doctor even saw her. So the results of everything today turned out pretty great! She's gained a whole pound since her 1 year checkup! The results of the echo were less clear because of how fussy she was during it, but they are sure that the hole is probably the same if not better than last time, where they thought it had either closed or gotten so small that they couldn't see it. The stenosis was set as Mild at her last appointment, and today it's been set as Very Mild. Rather than coming back in 6 months, we won't have to for another year! I wish I had a picture for you today, but Annabelle finally killed my poor phone and it refuses to even turn on. Paul says he will bring one home tomorrow so hopefully I'll have some new pictures for you soon!

Monday, February 25, 2013

Sorry we haven't posted anything in a few days we've been a little preoccupied but now we're back! The main reason there haven't been any new posts is that I just got a new computer for the first time in 6 years! The crossover to Windows 8 has kept me pretty busy but I think I've finally got it figured out enough to be fairly efficient! My new computer is a Dell Inspiron 15, and the new 15.6" screen looks huge compared to my old one. Though I think the main difference is my old laptop was a square screen and this is more of a rectangle. Here's what it looks like!

I'm also excited to say that I should recieve a drawing tablet in the mail today, so hopefully some time soon I can really start to implement the "Artsy Mama" part of our name into the actual blog!

Miss Annabelle is doing great! She is literally RUNNING everywhere! She also has her Cardiologist check-in in a few days, so look out for the post covering that.

Friday, February 22, 2013

I've seen so many giveaways on other blogs lately so I've decided to get in on the fun! For my very FIRST giveaway ever I'm going to give away a $25 Amazon gift card! If you've never been to Amazon you're missing out! They have EVERYTHING, from clothes to electronics to books to toys! Only two mandatory entires the rest are optional! Just enter on the raffle copter below! However, to be fair, my family members are not allowed to enter but you can invite your friends!!!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Yesterday Annabelle's first year shots, being somewhat delayed because I misplaced my wallet with her Medical Insurance card, were only the start of what is probably the worst day she's ever had.
At about 8:00 PM last night during dinner Annabelle starting screaming and kicking her legs like she was having a tantrum. She starting furiously rubbing her eyes and I thought that she had gotten something in them as much as she was fussing and messing with them. So I took her into the kitchen for better light to see if I could see anything in her eyes and immediately noticed little welts all over her face and the back of one of her hands. Obviously this freaked me and her dad out so we decided after calling our mothers (both nurses) that the emergency room was the best idea and that she probably had Hives. We weren't sure at first because the Hives had started to go down, and because I had misplaced her Medical Insurance card and the hospital that has her insurance on file was about twice as far away as the one we ended up going to because of distance. Fortunately, they saw us even without the Medical Insurance card, and they will probably send us the Medical bill by mail. As soon as I find the Medical Insurance card I can call the hospital and they will forward the bill to the Insurance company. This is how she looked in the waiting room last night.

This picture isn't the greatest but you can see how swollen her face still was by the time we got there. Most of the Hives went down on the way to the hospital, but the swelling didn't go down for another hour. When we were finally seen, only about 10-15 min after we got there, they took her vitals and gave us a room. Over the next two hours we suffered the typical hospital wait lightened only slightly by an Adam Sandler movie. They finally told us nothing we didn't already know, that she had a reaction to something. It could have been to one of her first year shots she had yesterday morning, it could have been to something in dinner, or it could have been something she picked up around the house. This annoyed me quite a bit that they couldn't have told us sooner, her Hives had been gone within a half hour of being there. As nice as the staff was as this hospital, they just really didn't seem to know what they were talking about. In the future we will definitely drive a little bit further and take her to her birth hospital. Her birth hospital is more professional, I trust the doctors there, and they already have Annabelle's Insurance on file. Anything to make a situation like this less stressful would have been done at our normal hospital. Me and her father agree that it was either dinner or something she picked up because she only had it on her face and the back of one of her hands, like it had spread from one to the other. As we wiped her face with baby wipes because we had give her some juice we noticed the Hives going down fairly quickly, so we know it probably was not her shots that caused the Hives. We hadn't had anything new for dinner that she hadn't had many times before fish and green beans. We think it may have been either the canola oil I used, because I usually just use butter, or the fact that we bought the fish at Walmart this time instead of Hy-vee where we usually do.

When we were finally released to go home, about two hours after we arrived, with nothing in regards to treatment other than a dose of antihistamine, we thought Annabelle deserved at least something small to make her day end a little better. So we got her favorite food, Chicken Nuggets. She went to bed relatively happy considering the day she had gone through.

Here's Annabelle happy and all cleared up this morning.

Lessons learned from this situation, stick with your family doctor or hospital whenever you can, trust me it will make you feel so much better than having complete strangers examine and decide the treatment for your child. At least at your family hospital you know that even if your primary doctor isn't examining your child or deciding on treatment, one of his/her colleagues is. And don't let your 1 year old go through your diaper bag and hide your wallet. Not having your Medical Insurance card in an emergency just ups the stress that much more. You can't help but worry about how you'll pay for it even if you're pretty sure your insurance will cover it.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Well Annabelle was in less than the best mood when we got home, and I really can't blame her. I didn't know she was going to get any shots at all today and she ended up getting four along with getting her blood drawn to check her iron levels and to check for lead. I'm not really sure why they need to check for lead as we don't live in an older home, and we don't live very close to a recycling plant or highway, so there isn't a lead threat in Annabelle's day to day life. Her weight has stayed the same as her last appointment, a whopping 20 lbs. She isn't expected to gain much because of how active she is but we have to bulk up on the fruits and veggies!

The developmental therapist came to visit like always, and like always Annabelle is right on schedule for most of her milestones and ahead on the rest. Because of her heart problem (mild pulmonary valve stenosis) and her occasional "ticks", her development is always a major focus. If she is off on her milestones it could be evidence of something going on, so we really have to pay attention. Fortunately, up until now her problems are very mild and seem to have no effect on her development at all.

In two weeks we will have to go for our second followup with the cardiologist. She has to go once every six months or so to make sure things are going well. In the beginning she had a small hole in her heart as well but by the first follow up it had either closed itself up completely or had become so small that it couldn't be seen. This was really great news because the doctor thought it would probably never close up all the way. She still has a murmur because of the Pulmonary Valve Stenosis. Pulmonary Valve Stenosis is a " heart valve disorder that involves the pulmonary valve.This valve separates the right ventricle (one of the chambers in the heart) and the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary artery carries oxygen-poor blood to the lungs. Stenosis, or narrowing, occurs when the valve cannot open wide enough. As a result, less blood flows to the lungs." (NCBI)

Fortunately, Annabelle has a mild case of Stenosis. Her case is so mild that the doctors don't believe that it will ever be serious enough to effect her quality of life. However, we still have to see the cardiologist every six months so that if it does unexpectedly become more serious, something can be done early on to prevent it from becoming worse.

Since we've been home, Annabelle has been given ibuprofen and is now is much higher spirits than when we first came home. So I'll close with a picture of Annabelle being.....well just being Annabelle.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Yesterday I saw a post on Facebook where a mom was showing off her daughters' new swimsuits. She had managed to find a modest yet ridiculously adorable swimsuit for her toddlers and I knew as soon as I saw it that I had to have it for Annabelle this year! I ended up having to go ten miles to find a target that wasn't sold out of these, only two within 50 miles had them and they were in limited quantity. Target's website is also sold out but you can use the store locator to find the closest one near you that has them.The Circo® Infant Toddler Girls One Piece Swimsuit has got to be the CUTEST swimsuit I've seen for a little girl in the longest time and you can't beat the $12.00 price tag With a bottom design that fits like shorts, it has a style that reminds me of the 1950's era. I hate when I see toddlers wearing bikinis, it's just not appropriate in my opinion. Not to mention the more a suit covers the better it protects from the sun. This suit has a 50+ SPF. I can't wait to debut this suit with Annabelle at the pool this summer and I'll be sure to do an in depth review for you readers when we do!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

So I just wanted to share this idea I got from a dream I had last night. Up until the middle of last year I was going to school to earn a degree in Graphic Design. Well, money became an issue and now I'm taking a break from school and just focusing on being a mom. Last night I had a dream that I started my own at home photography studio. That I had used my photography school books and had managed to be pretty successful. Since tax season is coming up, I thought I would consider asking Paul if we could spare a little extra so that I could get a camera to start practicing with, as I'm still quite far from actually running a business. However, even if that dream is a little ways off, it'd still be nice to be able to capture better photos of Annabelle than the ones I get now with a cellphone camera. I'll probably just start off with a cheaper new or secondhand camera, but my dream camera is the Canon Rebel!

Obviously with a price tag like that my dream camera is many, many, MANY years away...but it doesn't hurt to dream does it?

I see self employed photographers all over my news feed, from newborn/family photographers to nature/landscape photographers. I really think I can make a decent income if I go for it, so I will!!!

What did Annabelle get for her birthday? Don't worry I'm not going to list every little thing she got, but a few gifts just had to be mentioned because of Annabelle's reaction to them! The first was a cute little pink rocker horse that neighs when you push on its ear. Annabelle's reaction? Not really that impressed. Her aunt (my sister) attempted to put her on the horse and Annabelle responded with flailing her legs opposite directions to prevent any of that nonsense. Fortunately, Daddy came around and got her on it long enough for a photo!

The second gift that just BEGS to be mentioned, is her brand new baby doll As soon as she saw it she called it baby, and then took it to each person around the room one at a time to introduce "baby". No one was allowed to touch, but they could look. The reason this is such a big deal, is that she only knew about half of the people in the room, and this was the first time she had said the word "baby", let alone have any previous association with a baby. Here are some photos of her introducing "Baby"

And now for Annabelle's favorite new toy of the day........*drum roll*...............

Yes...balloons. She literally had a balloon in her hand right up until bed time, just having a hay day bashing it around.... To think of all the money wasted on presents when all she really wanted was a balloon! Just kidding, she loved all of her toys and plays with all of them, though more so the baby than anything else. If anyone who came to her birthday sees this, I just want to thank you all for making her 1st birthday one me and her father will never forget...even if she does. <3

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

As this day finally comes to an end, I can look back on the past year and honestly say I did the best I could at being a first time mom. There have been ups and downs, but as a family we've dealt with them head on and together. I see in my daughter the most well behaved little girl I could ever hope to have the privilege of being called Mom by. Everyday she does something new to amaze me,whether it be saying a new word for the first time or reaching a milestone like walking over the past few weeks. A year ago today I could never have imagined how rewarding and incredible a journey motherhood would turn out to be. It's sort of bittersweet to see her getting older no matter how gradual it is, but at the same time realizing that as she gets older I will get to experience the untold joys of watching a child grow up.I'll end this by saying that my daughter is such a joy to me that I couldn't possibly be any prouder of the person she is becoming as her unique personality beings to shine through.She never fusses unless she sincerely needs something, and no one is ever a stranger. I hope that she remains true to herself as she grows and never conforms to any ideals of society that won't allow her to continue to be happy being herself.

Monday, February 4, 2013

So back in my first Attachment Parenting post I mentioned baby wearing. Now my personal preference when it comes to baby wearing is the use of a sling. I received a sling at my baby shower and I still use it even now! Slings are that versatile that you can continue to use them throughout your child's toddler hood. Now my sling was hand made so it was basically free, but a name brand one can run you up to $100 or more. Until now, Seven Slings offers slings in a variety of colors that run around a $72 value, however recently they have had many promos where they give the slings away for free and you only pay....wait for it.....$11.90!!! All you have to do is add the sling you want to your cart and enter the code "family2013" in the apply code box. That's it! They even have a handy measurement chart to ensure that you're sling will fit perfectly, and for a small fee ($3.50) you can add insurance to your order to return the sling for a different size at no additional cost! You're not likely to find a deal this good on a high quality sling unless you know someone who can make one for you! So hurry and get one before they end the promotion!

Even though Annabelle won't technically be 1 year old until tomorrow.....wow I still can't believe how fast this first year has gone....but we'll save the sappy sentimental post for tomorrow. We decided to throw Annabelle's birthday party day before yesterday to ensure that anyone who wanted to come could. I had hoped it would go off without a hitch and for the most part it did. The only real issue came up when our family started to arrive at 12:00 pm on the dot. Now I set the time for the party to be between 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm, assuming that most people would show up around 12:30 pm. Normally our family runs a little late for gatherings and the friends we had coming had never been to our house, so I figured in time for them to find the place. Me and Paul left at about 11:45 to go to the bank and then get Annabelle's birthday cake and balloons. At about 12:15 pm my mom called to tell me that the 10 odd people that we had left at our apartment had more than doubled...This resulted in a mad dash from the bank to Hy-vee to get our custom cake and a set of 10 balloons. We finally get back to our apartment and it's a mad house! 23 +/- people to 7 chairs and a 3-4 person couch....there were a lot of people left standing or sitting on the floor. Thankfully, it didn't take long for us to get organized and from then on the party really did go on without a hitch! Only 2 of the expected 5 children showed up, but I really don't think there would have been the room for them even if they had, and Annabelle seemed to enjoy playing with her little friend from downstairs.

Now for the fun details!

We decided to go with a Yo Gabba Gabba theme for the party because it is one of the few tv shows that Annabelle will watch all the way through, and she just loves to dance to the songs. This is the custom birthday cake that we got at Hy-vee, I was very impressed with how it turned out especially considering it was only about $17.00. It's hard to see in photos but it had a gradient effect wherever two colors met that just looked amazing.

Happy 1st Birthday Annabelle

Here is Annabelle's special cake surrounded by cupcakes. We had bought some Yo Gabba Gabba candles about a week ago for the big cake but as you can see in the last photo there really wasn't any room for them, so we used them for this one.

And don't worry she wasn't as close to the flames as it looks in that photo! Of course she needed a little help blowing them out, but her Aunt Patti was happy to help!

We had bought this smaller cake hoping that Annabelle would demolish it, but she wasn't having any of that.

We pressed her hand in the icing to motivate her but she was not happy about it!

In the end she was happy to be spoon fed the cake.

However, when the icecream was brought out, she had no trouble at all picking it up and shoving it in her mouth....my daughter is so strange....

So this concludes Part I, of my birthday posts. Stayed tuned for Part II : The Presents.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Now for the long awaited sequel to my What is Attachment Parenting post. If you haven't read that post yet then go read it and come back....I'll wait.......Did you read it? Okay now we can go on to the effects of AP. First off, I'd like to point out that AP is not so much a set of rules as it is suggestions. At the end of the day only you can decide what is best for your own child, and if you choose AP and there is something that you just don't agree with, don't do it. It's as simple as thatSo anyways, I've been doing some research and it's actually pretty difficult to find hard evidence of what the long term effects of AP are. Most of the time the sources I found turned out to be opinion pieces, and those were so ridiculously biased that I won't pollute my blog by mentioning them by name for fear that I may actually provide an audience for them . They focus their opinions on the stereotypical over-the-top AP parent, i.e. hypochondriac, borderline Munchhausen Syndrome, total ignorance of their children's talents to encourage equality,and whatever other ungodly trends have hit the parenting world that I'm unaware of. None of which apply to me, and I still consider myself an AP parent. The source goes on to the selfish focus on a parent's own intimate needs over the comfort of their child, aka giving up marital relations in lieu of co-sleeping, thereby being completelyunaccepting towards co-sleeping as a whole. As far as I know, there is nothing under AP that says that co-sleeping has to take place every single night. Obviously, parents need time together away from the child, that's what separate bedrooms and babysitters (for out of the home occasions) are for. I did find one source that managed to be professional about the whole thing. In the article: Can 'Attachment Parenting' be Harmful? , Dr. Peter Nieman mentions two potential negative effects of AP as seen by skeptics. The first and arguably more important of the two , is the potential for the child to be denied boundaries and in turn lack understanding in regards to the mother's eventual exhaustion. In other words, the child may become so reliant on the mother always being available that when the time inevitably comes that she isn't available the child, the child may suffer from anxiety.The answer to this potential negative effect seems pretty obvious, I mean it's literally written above, "the potential for the child to be denied boundaries". Don't allow the potential denial of boundaries, set practical unwavering ones. Have a set schedule each day, and do your best to follow it. Obviously no one is perfect, and keeping a set schedule is easier said than done, but using a physical calendar or planner will definitely help.The second potential negative effective that Nieman mentions, that he also refers to as anecdotal, or unreliable and based on opinion, is that on the mother specifically. The potential for fatigue, sleep deprivation, weakened immune system, depression, and the potential for weight gain if the mother chooses to eat to deal with depression. Although Nieman says that "no definitive studies have confirmed that", it kind of just sounds like the typical first year parent problems that every mother and father go through regardless of their parenting style.I intended to be non- biased with this post, but the few sources I could find were either too biased themselves to be taken seriously, or they listed potential negative effects and then went on undermine them. So I have a question for you readers today:Do you have any negative experience with AP families? Have you even heard negative rumors of other AP families? Can you find a non biased source that shares proof of negative effects? Leave any answers as a comment below. This post ran a little long so I will write a separate one soon that will go over the reported positive effects of AP, and the effects I've seen personally on Annabelle.Sources:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/ask-a-health-expert/can-attachment-parenting-be-harmful/article4101169/

Monday, January 21, 2013

So I've been busy over the last week or so, hence the lack of any new posts last week. Mostly me and Annabelle were running around with family, and getting the house all cleaned up in preparation for her big 1st birthday bash! I can't believe that in about 2 weeks I will be the proud mommy of a 1 year old little girl! Now onto the main point of this post, Annabelle got her ears pierced! 4 days ago we spent the day with Paul's mother (Grandma) and grandmother (GG). We went to the party store and picked up some more decorations for the party and even found a first birthday candle with a cupcake on it! We ended the day by walking aimlessly around walmart for over 2 hours! When we finally decided it was time to go, we just happened to pass by the jewelry department. Grandma remembered that she had three watches that needed some touch-ups, and as we waited for the jeweler to finish with them, we thought what better time than to get Annabelle's ears pierced as well? We had to wait about 20 minutes, because at the time only one jeweler was available, and we didn't really want to have each ear pierced separately so we waited for her co worker to come back from lunch. Here is Annabelle right before the piercing, she couldn't have been in a better mood shoving pepperonis in her mouth. The pepperonis were GG's but there was no chance of having any usable number left after Annabelle discovered how awesome they taste!

In lieu of the typical response of a baby getting their ears pierced, Annabelle screamed one time and that was it. No tears, no real fussing, she was totally happy a few seconds later when we reloaded her hands with pepperonis! We decided to go with amethyst butterflies, in honor of Annabelle's birth month, February. Here is how they looked later that night.

They are upside down in this photo but you can easily make out the shape of the butterfly. She managed to get a small scratch underneath during one of the earlier attempts to pierce her ears. In all it took about five attempts to get her to stay still long enough, while at the same time having both jewelers have their guns lined up. During one attempt the jeweler began to push out the earring and Annabelle jerked, hence the scratch lining up with the earring. All in all, Annabelle took the whole thing very well, and I almost regret not doing it sooner. They look so pretty on her, and she forgot about them so quickly that she hasn't messed with them at all. They even came with a matching child size necklace that she also wears happily without any problems. I did feel a little bad that my mom was somewhat upset that she wasn't able to do it, however there's always belly button rings later on LOL.

So that's what's new with Miss Annabelle, I will close with yet another shameless plug to her cuteness. Here is sleepy Annabelle!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Now a little while back when this song first came out, there was a rumor going around facebook that playing the song for a fussy baby was a sure fire remedy. So of course I had to test it out of curiosity. I must say I was surprised at how well it actually works! If she is cranky or sleepy the song will put her out in minutes, and if she's in a good mood she'll dance her little heart out! I present to you exhibit A:

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Whenever Annabelle meets someone new, rather than freaking out and having a tantrum, she instantly demands (as much as she can without language skills) to be picked up by them to get a better look. Time and time again people have responded in surprise at how friendly she is, how easy she is to work with, and how well behaved she is overall. Now, I know I can't take full responsibility for how she behaves, because she has been the biggest bundle of happiness since the day she was born. However, I'd like to think that choosing Attachment Parenting as a model to reference as a first time mother, had at least a little bit to do with it.

So, now I bet you are wondering, :

What exactly is Attachment Parenting?

Attachment parenting, is a method of parenting that focuses on nurturing and positive discipline. This is a short and general answer, but AP just can't be summed up in one sentence. Below I will go in-depth to explain what AP is by introducing the various branches.

Monday, January 7, 2013

In one month I will be celebrating my daughter's first birthday. I can honestly say that at the beginning of February last year, I never would have imagined how crazy, amazing, and incredible the next 11 months were going to be! I've tried a couple of times now to keep a blog going to record the different milestones and in general just the thousands of things that make first time motherhood so awesome, but I've always gotten to busy to keep it going for more than a couple of weeks. Fortunately now my daughter is somewhat independent enough to give me a few moments to myself each day, and look at me managing to still devote those moments to her! I'm creating this blog as a record of how life is for our little family as something to look back on when my daughter is old enough to pay attention to anything that isn't furry and sings for more than 2.5 seconds.

So without further adieu, let me introduce you to the star of this blog, the love of my life (even more-so than her father, lol), an avid lover of Yo Gabba Gabba (no matter how painful of a migraine it may cause her parents), devourer of all things food or human (except for peas), and the center of me and her father's world, Annabelle Roselynn. We hope that you will join us on this sticky, and at times downright disgusting journey called Childhood.